De Nouvea
by Lux et Tenebris
Summary: Jaune Arc is given the chance to redeem himself. A chance to become the hero he's always wanted. A chance to right some embarrassing moments of course, and the chance to impede an incoming storm.


**Chapter 1**

 **I don't own anything, except my imagination.**

* * *

Jaune saw nothing. It was complete darkness. It reminded him of the night during the city, where no stars shined.

He always preferred the country side. The air always felt cleaner, and of course, you can actually see stars at night.

Maybe he was sleeping? That could be possible. This could be one crazy, mystical dream.

Jaune always wondered about dreams. In a sense, he dreamed about dreams. Sometimes he felt like dreams predicted the future sometimes, getting deja vu from seeing something he remembered from a dream.

He felt like he was floating, as if he was in a serene ocean. It was a nice getaway from his studies at Beacon. A break from getting beat down every time he stepped foot into the arena. A break from the craziness of getting involved with team RWBY and his own team, JNPR. Mainly Nora, however.

He didn't know how long it would last, however. As soon as the thought crossed in his head, what seemed like a glowing, spiraling portal appeared out of seemingly nowhere, interrupting his deep train of thought.

A tall figure stepped out of it, he was clothed in dark, ragged robes, and his face was completely shadowed by a long hood. His hands were a pale white. He seemed a tad bit intimidating and had an air of mystique around him.

After what seemed like the passing of a few minutes, the hooded man finally spoke out:

"Ah! Hello, my dear boy!" His voice was hoarse, and just from that clue Jaune predicted this man to be in either his late 50's or early 60's.

Either way, he was old.

"I apologize to have been keeping you waiting for so long. Uh..here, here! Have a seat!" With a simple wave of his hand, the hooded man somehow conjured up two small leather chairs. Jaune immediately stopped floating, and fell right onto one.

 _Huh. I really was floating._

Jaune now sat directly across the mysterious man. He decided this was the best time to get some answers.

"Okay, where exactly am I, and who on Remnant are you?" The figure simply chuckled.

"I knew you would say that. They always do." Jaune was thoroughly confused. "What are you talking about?"

The figure cleared his throat. "I'm going to make this simple for you. You can call me Mortem. And I am what you may call...er, a man with very special interests, you see."

Jaune opened his mouth to say something. "And NO, I am NOT a pedophile or some kind of perv. Jesus christ, come on man."

While Jaune had no idea who Jesus Christ was, the hooded figure decided to move on with the conversation.

"So, do you know where you are Jaune?" The Knight shook his head. "Nope, no idea. Space?"

"You, my good man, are in a place called..wait for it...The Void!" Mortem spread his arms around, as if showing off the vast emptiness around them. His voice echoed throughout the, well, the void.

"So...basically space?" Mortem simply sighed. "Yeah, I mean I guess it's basically space. Although this particular piece of space, is different. The Void is one of the only places in the multiverse where time does not reach it. Time does not pass here, and it is likely it never will. Also, you can breathe here." Jaune nodded.

"Back to the matter on hand, I'm going to be straight with you pal:"

* * *

"You. Are. Dead." The three words rang across Jaune's head like a bell. His reaction was one of disbelief. "You have to be joking..."

"Nah. I'm really not. You're dead. This isn't a dream, where you'll wake up and start contemplating about what happened in the dream, and slowly start to pick up fragments of it, until, ultimately, you completely forget and move on." Jaune's eyes widened. He was right, that was what he did every time he had a dream.

"You're kidding me right? You have to be kidding me. This has to be one crazy dream. And I can't be high right now, I dared to not do drugs!" Mortem shook his head. "Nope. Sorry kiddo. If you can't believe words, maybe some video footage will get you to believe."

Mortem waved his hand, and a flat screen TV conjured out of nowhere, similar to how the chairs were as well. Mortem clapped his hands, and the TV magically turned on.

On the screen, were video footage of what seemed like a destroyed Beacon. Jaune recognized the tower Ozpin used as his office, the proud spire now toppled onto the campus.

The main building had been reduced to rubble, with smoke surrounding what was left of it. The park and the campus were on fire, and if you had looked closely enough, you would see what looked like the bodies of students scattered around what was left of Beacon.

Strangely enough, traces of water and ice were also in the vicinity of the remains of the once prestigious academy.

The footage seemed like it was rotating around the campus, as if it was a plane circling the destruction.

This had to be fake, yet Jaune himself had a hard time convincing himself that.

"Wh-what...how..." He was in shock. This was definitely a joke. A sick one right now. Maybe he'll even laugh about this in the future. He immediately stood up from his chair and faced Mortem accusingly.

"Okay, listen here "Mortem." You may think this is some kind of real funny joke, but really, this is absolutely disgusting, you sick freak. What the hell are you showing me?" Jaune cussed at the robed figure. But Mortem simply remained calm, collected, and stayed in his chair.

"I'm not lying Jaune. And if you want me to explain, sit back down, and I. Will." Jaune grunted something under his breathe, but he sat back down.

"Wonderful. Thank you for your cooperation. Anyway, long story short, you are dead."

"Yeah, I know. You said that already." He rolled his eyes.

"Well, it's not just you, Jaune. It's you, your friends, your teachers, and your fellow classmates. As shown by the footage." Jaune seemed to be rising in anger. But Mortem simply ignored him. Out of nowhere, a notepad appeared out of nowhere and popped into Mortem's hands. He began flipping through it, as if it was the list of what he was supposed to say to him.

"And how? Simple. Well, you can call it simple. A massive surprise attack from the White Fang. Led by a young woman named Cinder Fall. It probably doesn't ring a bell?" The footage from the television changed into a picture of a young woman with long hair, and amber eyes. She seemed beautiful for her age, but it's as if there was something sinister in her eyes.

"Anyway, I'm not going to tell you that much about her. Simply put, She-" He pointed at the photo of Cinder. "-along with her allies, enlisted the help of the White Fang about a year ago. She's been behind the Breach, stolen Atlas super weapons, like the Atlesian Paladin-290, and also the reason why the cost of Dust has been extremely high in Vale." _Well, damn. That's actually kind of impressive._

"And as you just saw, the destruction of Beacon. She used the super weapons and the Dust she stole to arm and convince the White Fang to attack and destroy Beacon. The students were capable enough, holding them off until Atlas reinforcements made their way." The TV changed into footage of what seemed like teams fighting against droves of the White Fang. He even saw team RWBY, fighting alongside Goodwitch and Professor Port. He even saw his own team in combat, with him apparently giving out orders in the heat of battle.

"Although when the students and the staff had been about to drive the rest of the White Fang away, multiple captured Bullheads appeared, Dust Bombing the campus.

Dust Bombing. It was similar to regular bombs, however instead of gunpowder and other chemicals, elemental Dust was used to create devastating, unpredictable, destructive storms of ice, lightning, fire and a myriad of other elements. Jaune had gotten a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"That explains the smoke I guess. So...basically, everyone died from the dust bombings?" Mortem shook his head. "Both sides took major casualties. Alot of the White Fang and most of the students were dead at this point. When Atlas arrived, the deed had already been done. They swept across looking for survivors. But there were very few." Jaune sighed. That gave him a bit of hope.

"That..sounds good..well, actually, it's horrible...but...did RWBY survived? Did the rest of team JNPR survive as well?" Looking at Mortem, he still had the hood covering his entire face, and he was unsure of what kind of expression the robed man was making.

"Yang was vaporized from the bombing run. Nora was crushed by a Paladin. Ren was gravely injured, an iron rod pierced his lung, likely causing him to bleed to death. Pyrrah was injured, although not as bad as Ren. I'm not sure whether she survived however."

"Tough little lass she is. I guess she was born to be a huntress."

Jaune's face turned into a deathly white. As he heard the news, the news of how his friends died felt as if a bullet hit him each time. He tightened his fists. _Damn it all. Damn it._ He took a deep breath. "And the rest of RWBY?"

"Weiss was captured by remaining White Fang soldiers. I'm not sure whether Atlas Legionnaires managed to get to her in time as well. Blake was shot trying to hide, and Ruby...Ruby was cut down fighting."

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry kid. This is a hell of a lot to take in." Jaune stood up from his chair, picked it up and threw it into the void in anger. Tears started streaming down his face. "Damn, that was a really nice chair actually." Mortem mumbled under his breathe.

"Why the hell would the White Fang bomb their own people? They knew they would kill their own men and women in battle. They would have been wasting resources, destroying the War-Machines and weapons they stole." Mortem simply shrugged. "Who knows? A final act of desperation? An eternal blaze in their hearts to see humanity destroyed? Maybe that Cinder girl has a really high speech skill." The Arc grit his teeth.

"Damn them to hell, they didn't deserve this. None of them deserved this." Jaune wiped away his tears.

"I know Jaune, I know. That's why I brought you here in the first place. I plan to give you a second chance."

* * *

"Excuse me, did I hear you correctly? A second chance? How on Remnant are you going to do that? Why would you want to do that?" He turned to face the tall, robed figure. His eyes were still red from crying.

"Like I said, I am a man with special interests. I like to see certain things...happen, is one way of putting it." Jaune glared at him. "So you're saying that you're doing this completely for your own amusement?"

"Yes." He scowled. "So what's the catch? You'll send me back in time where I can fix all of this. There has to be a catch..." Mortem shook his head, er hood. "No catch. The only thing you have to give me is a good story to tell." Jaune rolled his eyes.

"And of course, why me? Why not, oh, I don't know! Pyrrah, or Ruby, hell, why not Nora? Nora would even be a better person for the job!" He yelled.

"You don't understand Jaune. What kind of story would it be if someone actually **capable** was sent to do this? Come on, think of this as a way to redeem yourself!" He placed his hand on his shoulder. "And it's not like you'll be taking this task on your own. Let's be realistic, you would never achieve this without ANY help. That's why I got an old friend to look after you down on Remnant. Think of her as your very own guardian angel."

Jaune shoved his hand away. "Fine. I guess I can't just pass this up, even if you're wanting to see me suffer, you sadist." Jaune swore that if Mortem's face wasn't concealed by that hood, he'd be grinning.

"Shake on it?" He stuck his hand out for Jaune.

He accepted.

"Great! I'll conjure up a portal to Remnant. Oh god, I can't wait to see how this plays out!" A large portal exploded in front of them. Jaune started walking towards it, before stopping and looking back at Mortem.

"Well? What is it?" Jaune seemed to hesitate for a moment. "Well, I just wanted to ask..."

"How did I die?"

"Oh you? You got crushed by the Emerald Tower. Sorry man." Jaune's face turned to one of grimace at the news.

"Well then? You shook the deal. No turning back on it now. Honor the deal." Jaune sighed.

"Damn. I'm going to regret this now." He stepped into the portal.

* * *

 **Hey everyone. Author here. For all of you reading, thank you for taking your time to read this. 'Preciate it.**

 **Uh, after that, of course. This is where you guys can decide when and where Jaune ends up. I'm letting you choose between three scenarios where he "Travels" back to.**

 **1\. Jaune is sent back to the Dust Ship in Season 1, yep, the one where he's throwing up.**

 **2\. Jaune is sent back to where he is flying during initiation. That honestly seems like the cruelest option, honestly.**

 **3\. Jaune wakes up in his bed, back at his dorm, in a "normal" Beacon. Although I'm not sure exactly "when" however. I'll lead that up to you if you choose this one.**

 **Thanks, and you'll hear from me in the next chapter. Feel free to write a review.**


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